Wind Turbines and Bird Fatalities

Last month, biologists found 484 bird carcasses at the AES -owned Laurel Mountain wind installation in West Virginia. The mass mortality event did not involve turbines. Despite the carnage that lies ahead for turkeys this holiday season in the U.S., most people are pro-bird. There are very few anti-bird initiatives. And nobody wants to connect the naturalists’ phrase 'mass mortality event' with them. But mass mortality events happen. They happen to whales. And seals. And the bees and the birds. Also known as die-offs, small events are common with birds and large events are not unusual, especially for birds that flock and migrate. The primary causes are things like disease, storms or predators. Pollution and collisions with vehicles, buildings and power lines also kill birds in large numbers. And it seems mass mortality events are becoming more common as the distance betwee...